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Thurston County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Thurston County is 226.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 107 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (33), Rail grade crossing (24), Air permit holder (minor source) (17). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 42.1449, -96.5707.

How this county ranks in Nebraska

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Thurston County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	226.5	143.2	1.58xSignificant	173.9 to 289.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80.9	51.8	1.56x	51.8 to 120.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	498.5	453.4	1.1x	420.9 to 586	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Thurston County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	27,025.9	9,842.6	+175%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	63.2	75.3	-16%	years
Child mortality	112	59.8	+87%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	114.7	96.9	+18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde14.46 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.17 per million
Benzene0.61 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

107 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit33
Rail grade crossing24
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Brownfield property12
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Public airport1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Pender, Pender
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2296 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Heritage Hills Housing Property - Macy, Ne, Macy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015335528 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lot 29, Winnebago, Ne, Winnebago
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039688861 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Pump & Pack/Walthill Service & Supply, Walthill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966757 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
St. Augustine (Boiler) Water Plant, Winnebago
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966919 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Omaha Lodges, Macy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970159 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Olive Branch Lodge 274, Walthill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974123 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Winnebago Tribe Of Nebraska Old Town Dump, Winnebago
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976882 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jumps Food Barn, Macy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979139 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
C_Tv_Conser211_, Winnebago
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983856 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center, Walthill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986768 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Walthill Fire Station, Walthill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986775 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
159002 St. Augustine (Water) Boiler Plant, Winnebago
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135807 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Village Of Thurston, Thurston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028140722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Village Of Wathill, Walthill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063877568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Winnebago Wastewater Treatment, Winnebago
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008886848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Pender Muni, Pender
Public airport. O.
Record ID 0C4 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/921329646 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Pender Wastewater Treatment, Pender
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011035824 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Automatic Equipment Mfg Co, Pender
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Automatic Equipment Mfg Co, Pender
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Emerson Mfg / Dmd Mfg, Pender
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007130700 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Circle T Feedlot, Walthill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008910161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ron Bruns D/B/A Ron Bruns Feedyard - East Place, Pender
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008941324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pender Grain Incorporated, Pender
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009418200 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Thurston County

Nebraska state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Thurston County, and their findings.
Nebraska vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Nebraska health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Nebraska environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Nebraska drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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